Journalist, Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport that Aston Villa are ‘well positioned’ to sign Borussia Monchengladbach star, Marcus Thuram.
The 25-year-old is currently at the World Cup with France. Thus far, Thuram has only made three appearances in the tournament, all of them being substitute cameos.
As for Villa, they appointed Unai Emery at the end of October, following the sacking of former manager, Steven Gerrard. Emery has managed two Premier League matches and won both games, against tough opponents in Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Jones believes there’s certainly a possibility of Thuram joining Villa. He said: “We’ll just have to see who has a nibble on that and decides to actually make an approach.
“Certainly, Villa should be well positioned just in case it gets down to them and they actually do have a run at getting him.”
TIF’s view on Jones’ comments…
We believe that Villa are in with a shout of landing Thuram, but it will be incredibly difficult due to the number of clubs that are also interested in the Frenchman.
The Sun reported that Newcastle United may bid for the player in January, with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur also being interested. Additionally, AC Milan have made a move for Thuram according to Sport Mediaset.
Thuram’s contract with Gladbach runs out this summer, so they’ll likely want to generate a fee for him in the January transfer window.
Should the 25-year-old leave the Bundesliga side in the next window, there’s no doubt whoever signs him will have a real talent on their hands. Thuram has 13 goal contributions from 15 league appearances this season.
Furthermore, when you compare that with other forwards from the top five European leagues, Champions League and Europe League, the stats show he’s one of the most deadly attackers in Europe.
The 25-year-old ranks in the top 9% for non-penalty goals scored and the top 10% for expected non-penalty goals and assists (FBref).
Villa will hope that Emery’s impressive CV will help convince the forward to join the club. The Villains certainly need someone who can get goals, they’ve only scored 16 Premier League goals. Only six clubs have scored less than that total.